Sparkle Addicts

Friday, April 8, 2011

Personal update on my life :-)

Hi everyone! I've been getting a lot of messages about where I am, why am I not posting and some are asking if I'm OK. Yes, I am OK. What am I up to? I'm very busy with work/jewelry orders at the moment. This time of year is normally slow but for some reason it's the exact opposite. I'm working 7 days a week with most days being 8+ hours.
I'm also working on an extensive project with Sobe Botanicals doing eyeshadow and lip product swatches for the website. I'm also working with Morgana Cryptoria on eyeshadow swatches. So due to these time consuming projects, I haven't had much time to post. I have hardly been wearing makeup at all so I haven't had much to post about lately.
On top of all this, spring is coming, my yard is starting turn green and I have lotsa yard work to do and am still ripping out the crappy old deck to replace it with stone. Lots of work to be done around here!

On top of work things, I have made a lifestyle change and altered my diet to incoporate more healthy foods by making green smoothies daily. I already ate very healthy before, but there were still some things lacking in my diet that I feel are important and green smoothies are a very easy and tasty way to make sure I get all the veggies and fruits I'm supposed to have.

Aside from my diet plan, I'm exercising (lifting hardcore weights) a lot heavier than usual and more often, to gain the weight that I lost last year when I got really sick. I was so ill I had no energy and could barely eat. So I lost 12 pounds! I'm already very slender so losing that weight was very hard on me because I worked really hard to build that muscle. So the last month or so, I have been eating almost 3,000 calories a day and lifting weights for over an hour 4-6 days a week. Eating 2,600-3,000 calories a day is a lot harder than you would think if you're getting it from healthy foods. Seriously, last night when logging my food, I realized I was 600 calories under what I should have been. So I had to run to the kitchen, eat a sunflower butter sandwich, eat some lean chicken and drink a tall glass of milk. Yeah, I have been feeling like a pig. Eating and eating...and eating.
I've already gained a few pounds and I can definitely see the muscles forming, that I've missed seeing on my body. This is a huge time suck for me but it's an important goal for me to get my weight and desired body back. I've posted before that if I could choose between makeup and working out, exercising wins without hesitation. I will not neglect my health and fitness to put makeup on. Nope! I could spend an hour doing a really amazing makeup look, but I would rather work out.

So my jewelry work, makeup work, house stuff, exercising and constantly stuffing my face  has been my life lately with barely any rest. I feel a little insane but things are going really well in life so I shall not complain. :-)

The only negative thing is I feel bad for not having much time to read your blogs and even reply to the comments on my own blog. I know you all are real people with lives and I know you understand that things get busy some times. I can't say when I will get back to regular posting or reading your blogs. So I'm not going to promise anything right now.

As far as future posting regarding makeup, I will post some things here and there. I have a couple makeup looks to post and will do that soon.
Also, I've teamed up with a very talented photographer and will be working on some photoshoots in the near future. So stay tuned for some very fun makeup looks and costumes! I will have to practice on some of these makeup looks so you might get sneak peaks before the photoshoots.

Since I have been keeping a very detailed food log and exercise log, let me know if you are interested in knowing what I'm cramming in my face and what exercises I'm doing and I will post them since it would be an easy copy/paste and post on here.

I'll leave you with a huge smoothie I made the other day! This was before I blended it obviously. Not sure why, but I didn't get a picture of it after blended. *shrugs*

I have a HUGE 3 horse power blender so your blender might not be able to handle this recipe.


Recipe:
2 cups frozen blueberries
2 cups baby spinach (smashed like crazy in the measuring cup to get as much spinach in there as possible!)
2 large bananas
3 tablespoons sunflower butter
2 tablespoons flax seeds (soaked over night in water, makes it easier to blend)
1 cup smart start cereal
1 cup 1% milk
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt (stuff is so bland!!!)
1 cup egg whites (equals 5+ eggs)

This is about 1400 calories. I sip on it all day with meals and in between meals. So if you were trying to lose weight, you could eat just this with even a bowl of cereal and lose weight. Healthy, yummy and EASY!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm going to see Beats Antique and Zoe Jakes perform tonight! So excited I could pee my pants!


~BLIX

17 comments:

  1. Love the post. It's a crazy busy this time of the year with school and all so I understand. Glad to hear you are feeling better. I loved the recipe but I have a smaller blender so I am not sure it could hack it. In addition, with my body type and weight loss goals I am looking for a morning shake or smoothie around 200-300 calories to meet my 1,000 calorie a day goal. It's hard on a college kid budget to get good food (something that's not cheap and processed) and squeeze enough hours out of the day to get in a work out. Any suggestions for shakes/ smoothies / quick meals ? Thanks so much for the post, I always enjoy reading.
    -Chelsea-
    P.S. I always love reading about what food others are eating so I can try to vary what I am eating. :)

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  2. That smoothie looks amazing! I would love to read more about what other healthy foods you are eating and any good recipes you have. I have been on the hunt for some really healthy and yummy recipes. I am sticking to a 1200 calorie diet and sometimes struggle to get up there, I can't imagine 3000!

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  3. woww is that you belly dancing? It's so good! And you know, we all have lives, so its totally forgivable if you don't post :)

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  4. Wow, you seriously ARE busy ! Tips on coping with all the work would really be appreciated, I feel I am crumbling under my "duties"

    You've got some amazing stuff lined up, don't forget to share ! can't wait to see the swatches and the photoshoots ! Have fun ! xx

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  5. I'm sure we all understand how it gets. Glad you are busy cuz that means $$ (usually) and with a new house, I'm sure you could use it.

    That smoothie sounds so good. I for sure need a new blender to make that baby.

    Good luck and don't forget to take some time to rest.

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  6. Wow. I wish I was as committed to my own fitness as you are to yours- I can barely make myself stick to a diet and work out for 30 minutes every other day! I admire that. I wish I could be more like that. But I like chocolate WAY too much! XD

    Also... I've never heard of sunflower butter. I wonder if I'd like it.

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  7. Ahhh! Zoe Jakes/ Rachel Brice are the shit! So jealous, have lots and lots and lots of fun! :))

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  8. I'm really interested in your diet.
    For the smoothy recipe, is there another type of butter that can replace the sunflower butter? Almond butter maybe?

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  9. Yummy looking smoothie! Glad to hear you're feeling better!

    I'm so turning into my mother, when I read 'Personal update on my life :-) ' I went, 'omg, you eloped!' Oh dear...

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  10. chelsea2788,
    Being busy does make it hard to eat the right foods. If wanting to stick within 1,000 calories, the best way to get that easily is with eating fresh fruit and veggies. Most are low in calories so you can eat a lot if you want to do that. The smoothie way is probably the easiest. I make a huge batch first thing in the morning and it lasts me all day. For 1,000 calories, you could make a similar smoothie to the recipe I listed, but don't use any type of peanutbutter/sunbutter or flax seeds and it would still be a lot to eat/drink in a day, leave you feeling full and be within your calorie limit. I basically pick out foods I like and count the calories before I throw them in the blender to make sure I'm getting the right amount.

    Phyrra,
    Oh it is good!

    Kimberly Marquez,
    Yeah, it's really hard eating this many calories but I have to do it! :-) I'll post more recipes as I get to them. I've been experimenting with various kinds. Avocado Mango smoothies are SOOOO good!

    Y,
    No, it's Zoe Jakes, my idol and my girl crush!

    MartianDelights,
    Coping with work? Blasting my fav music and dancing around on my breaks AND while cleaning the house. Seriously, I dance around cleaning in my underwear like a crazy person. But it's fun and makes getting things done more fun.
    I also talk to myself a lot...as weird as it sounds, it's healthy and keeps me more focused on what I'm doing (if it's something I need to be more alert with). Also, take everything one step/project at a time. Don't worry about what you're behind on or what you haven't been able to get done. Just focus on your current task and it will work out smoother. I hope that helps!

    Betty Ray,
    Yes, more money and it is certainly needed with all the house stuff lately!
    My Blender is a BlendTec. Google it...it's insane!
    Thanks and I will!

    dull_flame,
    It's all about motivation and really wanting to do it. I think it's also harder to do something if you don't quite know where to start or what to do to keep you motivated. It's good to have a partner to do things with to motivate each other. There are some very fun and easy exercises to get in shape. Like dancing!

    Sunflower butter is ground up sunflower seeds. Tastes sort of like peanut butter but I like it much better. :-)

    Widdlesh,
    I agree, they are the shit! Oh I will and I'll take lotsa pictures and videos to post later. I'm hoping I can get Zoe to sign my boobs! Seriously!!! :-)

    Skulda,
    Yes, almond butter or any other kind of nut butter would work just fine in a smoothie for healthy fat, calories and protein.
    I'll try to post regularly about my diet.

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  11. That smoothie looks INSANE! I am very tempted to break out my blender but skip the sunflower butter and eggwhites. Just thinking about the egg texture gives me the willies lol
    I may be going to Cancun next April so I feel like loosing a bunch of weight this year. I didn't get to enjoy the heat of Las Vegas as much as I could have because I still felt the need to cover up. Must.eat.healthy.
    This weekend is grocery shopping weekend and I smell a massive chickpea salad in my near future

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  12. When I first saw that pic I thought those were marshmallows, not bananas!
    Good luck with everything, Blix.

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  13. Your health is the absolute top priority. Drinking the green smoothies is a great way to get all those great nutrients in your body, and I'm thrilled to see you have a Blendtec! (I use a Vitamix and am convinced that most juicers are worthless)

    I'd love to see some recipes. I tend to make the same ones over and over.

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  14. This is great! I'm always looking for new recipes and if you are already recording 'em please do share! I use yogajournal.com and vegweb.com for new ideas. Pics of your costumes would be super cool too, happy spring!

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  15. Ive only just read this...hope you obtain your goals with muscle strengthening.

    interesting smoothies. I know i dont get enough 5 a day, but due to problems with my digestion i cant eat many of them...most leaf greens, citrus fruits and foreign (ie not UK grown) strawberries as they have too much citric acid in them.
    other berries though are all ok..blueberries and rasberries especially, so might have a look for recipes that have that and perhaps carrot.

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  16. I'm glad to know that you are OK and have been absent for 'good' reasons and not bad. I used to make green/veggie/fruit shakes and love them. But I do admit, I got away from them because the clean up of the machine (juicer) was the pits!

    It will be interesting to follow your eating log. :)

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